Long Overlooked, Canadian Whisky Is Going High End

Collingwood is one of a growing number of premium Canadian whiskies
Collingwood

By

Christopher DeWolf

July 6, 2018 1:29 p.m. ET

Don’t get Davin de Kergommeaux started on the misconceptions around Canadian whisky—because there are a lot of them.

“It’s very badly misunderstood,” says de Kergommeaux, author of Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert. “We’ve kind of been a little bit overlooked.”

De Kergommeaux has spent years studying—and drinking—the northern elixir. During that time, he has become used to meeting people who seemed a little baffled by his interest. But then something changed.

After a decades-long slump during which the world wanted nothing to do with brown spirits, interest in whiskey sprung back to life. That included all kinds of whiskey: Scotch, with its regional variations and single malt pedigree; Japanese whiskey, with its subtle, balanced flavors; Bold, gutsy bourbon.

And now, finally, it’s Canada’s turn. Maybe it was Mad Men’s Don Draper, with his trusty bottle of Canadian Club. But more likely it has been the spate of ultra-premium releases that are revealing just how good—and diverse—Canadian whiskies can be.

“Canadian whisky flew under the radar but now that connoisseurs are tasting it and liking it, it’s OK to be seen to be drinking it,” de Kergommeaux says. “Think of that new Collingwood 21 Year Old, 100% rye, that just came out. It just blew minds in America. Think of Wiser’s 35 Year Old or Gooderham & Worts. They’re something the whisky connoisseur can proudly pour for their guests.”

Serious Value

The prices help. With high-end Scotch nearly doubling in price, and coveted Japanese bottles like Hibiki 30 going for thousands of dollars, Canadian whisky represents a seriously underpriced segment of the market. Just a few years ago, it was possible to buy a top-end Canadian whisky for the price of a middling single malt. Things are changing, but it’s still good value.

“Alberta Premium 30 Year Old was C$50 (US$38),” says de Kergommeaux. “Now we see the [Canadian Club] 40 Year Old for C$200 (US$152). You could get that, or you could get the equivalent Glenfiddich for C$6,000 (US$4,567). I’ve tried both, and the Glenfiddich is not C$5,800 better. You can still get a staggeringly good Canadian whisky for a tenth or a thirtieth of the price of a good Scotch.”

Why? It might be that, despite their curiosity, many drinkers still don’t understand what Canadian whisky really is. It doesn’t help that, due to American labeling laws, Canadian whisky that heads south of the border must be labeled as “blended whiskey”—the same category as bottom-shelf hooch that is essentially flavored rubbing alcohol. There’s also a sense that, because Canadian whisky is less tightly regulated than bourbon, there is less guarantee of quality.

De Kergommeaux says this is a myth. It all goes back to the 19th century, when pioneering English, Dutch, and German distillers began producing whiskey for a thirsty young country. At the time, most whiskey—including Scotch—was a barely aged, watered-down, disreputable drink. With an abundant supply of rich, flavorful rye grain, which has a flavor many people liken to Christmas spices, distillers in Canada began adding small amounts of it to their whiskey in order to give it a more robust flavor. The practice caught on and Canadian whisky soon became immensely popular both at home and in the United States, where until 2010 it represented an even larger share of the market than bourbon.

Experimentation is Welcomed

But that’s only part of the story. What separates Canadian whisky from its international kin is the way it is made. Whereas bourbon is made from mashing several types of grain together, Canadian whisky is made by distilling each component grain—wheat, corn, and rye—separately, then aging them and blending them together afterward. The component spirits and the final product can be aged in new oak barrels, ex-bourbon barrels, or barrels used for sherry, wine, and more.

Recent years have seen even more creative releases.

“We have the tendency to experiment a lot,” says André Girard, president of Quebec Whisky, a non-profit association of aficionados. Some of his top picks from the past year include the the Pike Creek 21 Year Speyside Finish, with notes of maple syrup, apricot, and pepper; and Wiser's Union 52, a blend of 15-year-old Canadian whisky with 52-year-old single malt Scotch distilled in 1964. Girard praises its voluptuous mouthfeel and its complex interplay between typically Canadian flavors of spice and caramel and the fruitiness of the single malt.

Although the market is still dominated by venerable old distillers like Wiser’s and Crown Royal, newcomers are taking advantage of the resurgent interest in Canadian whisky, including Kentucky-based Sazerac, which last year bought a distillery in Montreal that it is renovating in order to produce experimental batches of high-end whiskey.

Craft distilleries are making an impact, too. One of the more acclaimed new whiskies on the market is Dillon’s Rye, a single-batch, all-rye whiskey that includes a seasonal 118-proof cask-strength release. “I was 21 years old and I knew I didn’t want to make bourbon, I didn’t want to make Scotch,” says Geoff Dillon, who began distilling in 2012. “I wanted to make rye whiskey.”

All of this has created a buzz around Canadian whisky—and de Kergommeaux anticipates it will only grow in the coming years. “People are trying it and are sometimes shocked at how good it can be. It’s moving forward.”

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